Love one another as Jesus has loved us.

This morning I greeted the day with a smile on my face and gratefulness in my heart. All is well in Rita’s world once again. Something I would not have been able to say Wednesday.

I awoke Wednesday with a black cloud hanging over me. What had changed? I immediately went to my SpiritualWhy list.

Was I focusing more on the “things of this world” than on the Kingdom of God?

Were there behaviors or paradigms that needed to be changed?

Had the Lord given satan permission to “sift me”?

My answer was all of the above. The Lord had enrolled me in a graduate level pruning course. I could feel the war ranging in my soul, and the oppressive cloud of darkness was undeniable.

Why does our heavenly Father grant satan permission to sift… test… tempt His children? Children pardoned and liberated from the chains of darkness by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Why? Although the chains have been removed, you can remain imprisoned by habitual behaviors and thoughts.

In the time of Jesus, sifting grain required violent, brute force. The grain was spread onto a floor of stone or hardened earth and beaten violently. This sifting removed the chaff from the kernels. Separating the usable part from the unusable. In other words, the grain was torn apart.

Yes, the Lord wanted to tear me apart Wednesday— but not to destroy me. With my cooperation he was remaking me more into the image of His perfect, sinless son— Jesus.

So what did I do Wednesday? I allowed the Lord’s Word— His Truth to be my refuge and guide.

You may think that the situation is hopeless, but God gives us more grace when we turn away from our own interests. That’s why Scripture says God opposes the proud, but He pours out grace on the humble.

So submit yourselves to the one true God and fight against the devil and his schemes. If you do, he will run away in failure.

Come close to the one true God, and He will draw close to you. Wash your hands. You have dirtied them in sin. Cleanse your heart, because your mind is split down the middle, your love for God on one side and selfish pursuits on the other.

What did that look like? Join me Monday as I share more of my confession and the spiritual and practical strategies I used to defeat the devil.